Turncloak and Betrayer
by Blackguard83
Summary: Theon Greyjoy gets a second chance type of story. Slight crossover with Forgotten Realms.
1. Chapter 1

"Turncloak" - he whispered to himself for one thousandth time.

This was so unfair. He was too young, he didn't know any better. He didn't learn to hate his enemies, his captors. Instead he did quite the opposite. Strived to be one of them, strived to belong. It was pathetic. He was pathetic.

He tried to correct the mistake, tried to choose his family over Starks and stick with it. Stick with it completely. Stick with it no matter what, but it was too late, too late. He was too emotionally invested and wasn't fooling anyone, couldn't fool anyone, not even Bran.

'Turncloak' - the voice of Ser Rodrick whispered again in his head.

And the old man was right. He was a traitor, traitor to both sides. Not because of what happened or what he did, but because of how it made him feel inside. Feel like a weak man with divided loyalties who should have never left Robb and stayed with him as his loyal dog, who should have stayed on Pyke, instead of rushing to war eager to prove himself, eager to please his father and for what? For what? He wanted to scream, but instead he whispered again...

"Turncloak"- whispered that cursed name into the emptyness of the cold night one last time and then he died.

If only he could have done something, done something differently, but what? He was too young, too young to know any better, too young to hate them all as they deserved. His father for his foolish rebellion, the Starks for making him pay for his father's mistakes. He was paying for his family's mistakes for almost as long as he remembered and then they all dared to claim he betrayed them as if he ever belonged to either family! This was so unfair! And yet even in death the voices insisted on mocking him...

'Turncloak...' - and then he realized he was still thinking still agonizing even in death. He must be in seven hells, paying the price for his sins, for two innocent orphan boys that he slayed.

"Seven hells?" - the amused voice asked. - "Why would we need seven hells when your kind is so good at creating your own?"

"What do you mean?"

"Reek, reek it rhymes with sneak" - the voice in the darkness laughed in the sing song manner. - "Rings any bells?"

"No" - Theon replied in confusion.

"Good, that means your punishment is over" - the voice replied as a matter of fact.

"What punishment?"

"Do not worry your pretty little head about it." - the voice replied in iritation. - "It is over. Get it? What is really important however is what happens next."

This time Theon prudently kept quiet awaiting his fate.

"Long story short we find the situation you are in - amusing, and so we are curious to see what choices you make the second time around. You will not remember this conversation obviously. Same as your punishment. That would defeat the whole purpose of experience. However it is also the reason why we are not taking everything away. It would be awfully boring to see you making all the same stupid choices. Also we feel the situation would benefit if we provide you some company. Now, off you go!" - few moments later Theon's tormented mind finally succumbed to the all consuming darkness.

The next time he opened his eyes he was standing alone in the middle of the vast forest clearing in his hunting gear, bow and arrow useless in his usually able hands. The deer was gone, instead the memories of the events leading to his death during the sack of Winterfell came rushing in. The memories of the last fateful year. He didn't know how, and yet he knew they were yet to happen. Unless he did something about it.

Suddenly, behind his back he heard the characteristic sound of someone shifting his weight while wearing the suit of armor. Instantly he turned around raising his bow in the process only to find a slender young woman staring at him with suspicious eyes. She was approximately the same height as him and her black suit of armor was nothing he ever saw before in his life, intricate set leaving quite a bit of her upper torso exposed. One might even call it impractical and ridiculous, but then again to the absolute majority of Westeros population the concept of a woman wielding a sword was nothing short of blasphemy. And she was armed all right. The bastard sword in her right hand was quite long and looked downright lethal especially if you paid attention to the way she held it - effortlesly as if the oversized blade had no weight at all.

She was easy on the eyes, with her long auburn hair and aristocratic features, definitely pretty. Theon might even have called her beautiful if not for the haunted look that clung to her face.

"And who might you be fair lady?" - Theon carefully asked, not lowering his bow but minding his manners just in case. She had an air of nobility around her and with that sword in her hand he didn't want to piss her off, too much.

"You first." - she challenged him instead.

"My name is Theon.." - he paused for just a second, 'Theon of the House Greyjoy' he meant to say, but instead he said - "Theon Turncloak."

She gave him a curious look and lowered her blade by just an inch in the process and then finally gave him her name in return:

"I am Lady Aribeth de Tylmerande. Betrayer of the city of Neverwinter."


	2. Chapter 2

"Betrayer of the city of Neverwinter" - Theon chuckled without mirth - "Well that's certainly a more fancy way to put it. I guess that makes me betrayer of the castle of Winterfell." - he finished adding a mock curtsey at the end.

"Winterfell..." - the woman calling herself Aribeth whispered to herself and took a slow look around ignoring Theon and his bow. - "Never heard of the place. Is it anywhere near by?"

"A day's ride from here" - Theon supplied and offered - "I could take you there."

That capured her attention and she turned to Theon again giving him a curious look.

"And you sure we would be welcomed there." - she stated as a way of asking and put her sword into scabbard with a practised movement of her hands.

"Don't worry" - Theon answered putting his own bow and arrow away - "I didn't betray them just yet." - which judging by expression on her face only created more questions, but she didn't voice them and made several steps in his direction instead, trying to pick one of them in the process. Finally she stopped five paces away from him and asked:

"Were you supposed to meet me here?"

"I do not know" - he answered truthfully - "The last thing I remember is dying two years from now during the sack of Winterfell" - that prompted a confused look from her.

"Is it some sort of premonition?" - Aribeth asked.

"No I remember living through it, as if it happened yesterday every decision, every emotion" - he paused and shook his head. - "It was real." - He continued with conviction - "Two years, whole bloody two years - they were real. I don't know how I know it, I just know it."

The woman gave him a strange look and turned away with a thoughtful gaze on her face as if she was inspecting the forest.

"Strange" - was all she said.

A pause.

"So what's your story?" - Theon asked but she didn't reply right away so he added - "Betrayer" - and immediately felt immature after he noticed a pained expression in her eyes when she turned back to him.

She didn't snap though or showed any signs of hostility. Instead she replied with resigned sigh.

"I was executed and sent to the frozen wastes of Cania for the crimes I've commited in my mortal life. My spirit suffered there for a while with the other betrayers, until I have faced my crimes and chose to suffer no more. Fading away in the icy depths instead. As countless forgotten souls before me." - she paused and gave him a long searching look, but Theon was at a loss for words for once in his life and kept quiet. - "Alas it was not to be. And here I am again flesh and blood and bone. Paladin of vanity, blackguard of denial." - she sighed again in resignation - "Obviously the gods are not done with us just yet, Turncloak, so lead the way." 


	3. Chapter 3

They decided to travel on foot. They had only one horse between them, and it wasn't his. Theon's own mare injured her leg three days ago because of mistake he made during the stupid race with Robb an Jon. So he was forced to borrow this young chestnut filly and didn't want to risk injuring it as well. On the second thought his horse wasn't exactly _his_ either since almost everything he "owned" he received from Starks. Theon tried not to dwell on it, but the thought still left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth.

Aribeth didn't have even that luxury, everything she owned she carried on her person and in her suit of armor her weight probably exceeded his own. Or at least so he suspected. Aribeth was a slender woman but her footprints on the forest's ground spoke for themselves. Curiously enough she didn't appear to experience any hindrance because of the all extra weight, which Theon found to be frankly amazing. But even then the fact still remained though. Together they were too heavy. And an encumbered horse in a forest was a recipe for disaster. In any case they still had to get their stories straight and travelling on foot bought them some time. When it became clear that Aribeth wasn't exactly local, it was Theon, who did most of the talking.

"You have to loose that armor" - he stated right off the bat. - "The sword is going to raise enough eyebrows as it is. But the armor is too.. outlandish. I have never seen anything like it on a woman or anyone else for that matter. You will never pass for an ironborn in it." - the plan was already quickly forming in his head.

"Why do I need to pass as an ironborn?" - she asked.

"Because we are in the North and if you insist on carrying that blade" - he pointed to the sword in question with his eyes - "you would have to be of noble birth." - he paused to remember stories of Lyanna Stark, and explained further. - "If you are daughter of the Lord it might amuse him to train you in arms. Still that is an exception from the rule. Most highborn ladies end up spending their lives breeding and sewing. Peasants sometimes teach their daughters archery, but that's it."

Theon glanced at Aribeth to make sure she was still listening and continued to move ahead.

"Anyways, all the noble families in the North know each other and are the bannermen of Starks of Winterfell. Which means you would have to be from somewhere else. That leaves north of the Wall, Iron Islands, Dorne or someplace very far away and frankly speaking..." - Theon glanced at Aribeth again with mischevious eyes - ".. you are too pretty to be a spear wife."

If Aribeth was flattered or offended in any way she didn't show it, in fact she wasn't even looking at him. So Theon turned away and added as an afterthought - "In any case wildlings can't forge such fine steel as your blade, which means you stole it, which means you are thief and you don't want to be a lone wildling thief in the North, trust me."

They walked in silence for a while. Theon ahead leading a horse and Aribeth slightly behind.

"Why is Dorne one of the options?" - Aribeth finally asked

"They train their women in arms if they are stubborn enough to seek training, just like on iron islands." - Theon reasoned - "But it is a loosy option for you."

"Why is that?"

"Several reasons. For once you don't look the type. Your skin is too fair and you have blue eyes. Secondly Dorne is too far in the south. As far as the south can be, in fact. You would have trouble explaining how you appeared so far in the north right next to Winterfell without travelling Kingsroad or passing White Harbor. Thirdly you would have to be a commoner" - he glanced at her again and noticed that this time she was looking at him with interest so he stopped and continued speaking directly to her - "or highborn bastard, considering your looks and manners. But most importantly you would be a woman with a sword without legitimate business in Winterfell." - he paused - "Unless you have some other trade, besides warfare?"

She stared at him for couple of seconds and then lightly shook her head in denial.

"No, not since I had fallen" - she replied quietly.

"What do you mean you had fallen?" - Theon asked in confusion.

"As a paladin, abandoned by my god, Tyr, Lord of Justice" - her face suddenly looked ashen. Theon wouldn't believe such quick transformation was possible if he didn't see it for himself - "I could heal people before, you know, with my faith alone" - she sounded as if she was almost grieving for her other life - "I wasn't as good as clerics of course, but our order had other purpose." - She raised one hand slowly and put it on his chest, searching for his eyes with her own blue gaze - "I was albe to look men in the eyes and tell if their hearts were evil." - Needless to say that made Theon feel very uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but remember those two orphan boys - "But not anymore" - she removed her hand from his chest and slowly walked away three paces.

He couldn't see her face anymore and somehow never felt more empty in his life.

"What happened?" - he simply asked, and felt like a moron, but she obliged nonetheless:

"I have become a blackguard, a creature of evil, little better than mortal fiend, the very thing I was sworn to eradicate" - he could feel bitterness enter her voice for the very first time since they met, but she wasn't done just yet - "with no other purpose for existance other than to avenge the man I loved soooo much." - she finally finished her bitter voice literally dripping with sarcasm and then she laughed out loud for all the world to hear and it suddenly felt cold. And then she turned around...

She almost looked like a different person, her eyes alive for once, her beautiful features twisted into a cruel smile, which sent the chills running down his spine. That unmistakable herald of fear, followed by the rush of adrenaline and unvoluntary step back. Her black suit of armor suddenly didn't seem so impractical and ridiculous anymore. It had a purpose all right and that purpose was to strike fear into the hearts of men.

"But here is the funny bit, Turncloak." - she made a step in his direction and he had to make an effort to hold still - "I didn't love him you see. Oh I thought I loved him, he was my fiancee true, and he was executed unjustly to appease an angry mob which looked for a scape goat, but I didn't embark on my vengeance trip out of love. It was something different. A little bit of vanity, a little bit of denial and the streets of Neverwinter ran red with blood to appease whatever that feeling was."

"Why does it make so much difference why you chose to avenge him?" - Theon finally found his voice - "If he was executed unjustly, isn't it the reason enough?"

"Oh, but you see it wasn't just guilty who paid the price" - Aribeth revealed, and Theon could see that his question calmed down her a little - "When we sacked the city plenty of innocent paid the price too, children included. You just can't avoid this kind of collateral damage and I knew it. I knew it and I sacked the city anyway, because I didn't care, because they executed the man I _loved_." - she chuckled shaking her head in disbelief.

"You know, I didn't realize I never loved him until I found myself in that frozen hell. I was so defiant and self-rightheous even in death. Until the fiend that runs the place, Cania, felt it would be amusing to burst my bubble and helped me to arrive to conclusion." - she suddenly fell silent, her fire gone, and released a familiar sigh, sigh of defeat, which Theon already learned to hate - "I was so broken" - she finally said, her voice incredibly sad - "When I vowed to avenge Fenthick I thought I was doing the right thing, for the right reasons. I thought I would deliver justice. I was so deep in denial that by the time I hacked and slashed my way to the gates of Neverwinter I forgot the most fundamental thing - that there is no Justice in Murder."


	4. Chapter 4

The next day he arrived to Winterfell, it was on the back of his horse. He was alone. It was bustling with people just the way he left it three days ago. Just as he remembered. Only this time he had two sets of memories to rely on and it felt... strange. He couldn't quite place it. The guards at the gates - Hayhead and Skittrick greeted him as an old friend. Good lads, inseperable, with a slight weakness to gambling and whoring. Not that Theon judged, he still owed Skittrick four silver stags and accompanied them to Winter's Town on more than one occasion. And then they accompanied Eddard Stark to King's Landing and he never heard from them again.

Mikken, the smith, hurried on his business as usual not even paying him the slightest attention. He never liked Theon true, and it was mutual, but the sword he forged him was top quality steel, worthy of a nobleman and heir to Pyke. He died during the sack of Winterfell. Kennelmaster, Farlen, was yelling at his dogs in the distance, this one he killed himself. Beth, young daughter of Ser Rodrick passed him by on his way to the stables and gave him a shy smile. He didn't want to remember what happened to Beth... He was passing through the sea of ghosts. Dead men walking. And some of them he sent to the afterlife himself. It was borderline eerie.

He returned the horse to the stables only to find out that his own mare has recovered completely. But it barely registered in his mind. He wanted to leave this place. It was suffocating him and it had nothing to do with horse shit. It was Winterfell itself that had this choking effect on him.

'Screw the Starks, and screw Winterfell, with its ever present smell of wet dogs. I owe them nothing. They are not my responsibility.' - he thought to himself with spite, but the plan was already in motion and to his surprise he realized that if it weren't for Aribeth, he would grab his mare and leave the doomed castle and its ruling family to their own devices. He could run to Lorath or some other Free City..., or he could always wait for her, he supposed, and then they could bail together. Yes this certainly sounded as a better option, he reasoned and braced himself for the inevitable meeting with Starks. He didn't even realize that he never considered Pyke as one of the options. As far as Theon was concerned he was done with Iron Islands.

The meeting with Robb, Ned and Ser Rodrick went easier than he expected, maybe because he made up his mind already and they didn't have a clue what was coming.

'To betray you have to belong' - he thought to himself as he watched two Starks and old master-at-arms laugh as they traded some jokes in the courtyard. Oh sure they have inquired how his hunting trip went and if he was alright, not even a hint of suspicion in their voices about the delay. But it was just a courtesy, it didn't mean that he belonged, after all they went back to trading jokes as if he didn't exist. As if they didn't have a shark for a hostage in their castle. They took his loyalty for granted as he was some kind of dog, they sheltered in their home. No wonder that Ned Stark ended up dead in King's Landing, right after King Robert died. Speaking of Robert, Theon couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if his own father Balon Greyjoy decided not to wait with rebellion until old lecher king died. The noble Lord Eddard Stark would have a duty before his king to execute Theon. And an old man being the way he was would probably have swinged the sword himself.

'Is' - Theon corrected himself in his mind, after another fit of laughter from the company interrupted his thoughts - 'He is still alive... For now.' - and then he excused himself on some pretext and left the clueless fools in the courtyard. As far as he was concerned, Aribeth couldn't arrive too soon.

"Theon, wait" - Robb's voice interrupted him, before he could get too far, and when he stopped his adoptive brother quickly catched up with him, safely out of the earshot of two older men. - "Would you like to race tonight? Jon already agreed."

Theon was about to protest remembering the last race, but then he felt something was wrong and narrowed his eyes in suspicion - "Why do I get this feeling that you are not talking about horses?"

But that only made Robb laugh and say - "All right, you got me, I have some other entertainment in mind, just don't tell Jon" - and just like that all the spite that collected in Theon's heart during the day was gone as if it was never there and they laughed together as only brothers could.

Needless to say, when Jon realized what was going on he wasn't impressed. And when Theon made a joke about Jon dying a virgin at the Wall he received a very strange look in return, which made Theon inwardly swear. He wasn't supposed to know about Jon's intentions, the bastard surprised everyone the last time around. He would have to be more careful from now on. Either way the damage was done. The bastard was gone. And Theon with Robb had to make the journey to the brothel alone.

Robb as usually sticked with his favourite, the one he could trust to be discreet and not to produce a bastard nine months later. She was a pretty little thing, even though twice his age. Theon, meanwhile, liked to pick at random. Only this time it was not as random as he thought. Somewhere in the middle of the act, he realized the woman reminded him of Aribeth, and once that happened he couldn't un-realize it anymore, so Theon being as he is took his imagination for a ride and they had a lot of fun together.

The next morning he was deep in thought and accidently bumped into Arya on his way to breakfast. He yanked her from the floor and was called squid for his efforts. She didn't like him much, but strangely enough it amused him. And on the good days they even practised archery together. Today apparantely was one of the bad days.

"Whatever you bastard said to Jon?" - she accused him immediately.

"Jon?" - Theon wasn't prepared for such an ambush - "I haven't even met... oh you mean yesterday."

"Yes, yesterday" - Arya sounded beyond irritated - "The three of you left for your stupid race. And then Jon came back alone upset and didn't even talk with me."

"Why do you think it's my fault?" - Theon felt the need to defend and couldn't help, but feel ridiculous.

"Please" - Arya snorted rather unladylike and Theon had to supress a laugh - "Jon is a better rider than Robb or you. So you must have said something. Robb would never upset Jon in such manner."

She was too smart for her own good. Theon had to give her that, but he wasn't about to admit it.

"Look, brat..." - he began, only to be interrupted by Bran, who made an appearance:

"Theon, there is a woman in a hall looking for you. She is from Iron Islands" - he sounded rather excited about it.

"Iron Islands?" - Theon feigned surprise and it wasn't hard she arrived a little bit earlier than he expected.

"Yes, she has this awesome sword too and says she is to speak with you and only you" - yes, Bran was definitely excited. Well Aribeth certainly knew how to make an impression on a ten your old. He just hoped Lord and Lady Starks were as easily impressed, it would make things go smoother.

"Well then let's not keep her waiting, shall we?"

Meanwhile Arya was too intrigued by the concept of woman with a sword and already forgot their standing conflict as only a child could do.

"Sword? What does it look like?" - she interrogated her little brother on their way to the great hall.

"Well it is rather long. Too long to be a longsword and it is cross-guard is shaped in a form of a thin lizard eye..." - Theon phased out their chatter and focused on the task ahead instead.

When they entered great hall the breakfast was about to be served and the Starks were already present and in their usual places. Maester Luwin and Jon Snow were also there. Aribeth was standing in the middle of the hall flanked by Ser Rodrick and Jory just in case. When Ned saw Theon arrive he barely nodded his head and all three moved closer to the table where the ruling family breaked their fast.

Theon didn't take a seat and chose to stand next to Ned. He approved of what he saw. Aribeth ditched her black armor for a nondescript hunting gear, which suited her rather well, and was pretty common in the North, just as he instructed. And she carried the sword on her back instead of it being attached to her belt as he remembered. Bow and quiver of arrows completed the picture. If you chose to ignore the sword she was dressed just as your ordinary northener, or someone who meant to travel through North without attracting too much attention. All in all money well spent, he would congratulate her later. They still had a little show to perform, first.

After a short customary pause allowing a host and a guest to inspect each other Ser Rodrick cleared his throat and moved on with introductions:

"Lord Eddard Stark, allow me to present Lady Aribeth de Tylmerande of Black Rock, bannermen of Balon Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands."

"Lord Eddard Stark. Lady Catelyn Stark. It is an honor to meet you" - Aribeth bowed her head slightly in greeting. Noble ladies were not required to do curtsey in travelling gear.

"The honor is ours, my lady" - Lady Catelyn returned the favour and smiled at her guest. In the South it was always considered prudent to include Lord's wife during introductions, even if protocol didn't demand it. - "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I came here to deliver the message to your ward, Theon of the House Greyjoy" - normally at this point Aribeth would have been offered rest or refreshment, according to hospitality laws in the North. At the table with the host family no less, since she was a noble. But in the world where everyone used ravens for communication personal deliveries were extremely rare and considered a matter of utter importance.

"My lady, may I present you Theon of the House Greyjoy" - Lord Eddard Stark raised his right hand to indicate him. The old wolf was definitely intrigued.

Aribeth turned her blue gaze to him and sligthly bowed her head again - "My Lord."

Theon didn't reply which caused an uncomfortable pause. And then he simply extended his hand expectantly. That certainly was a breach in etiquette and it was intended to be that way. Aribeth played along:

"My Lord, the message is private and was not meant to be read or written."

"Well, speak then" - Theon countered in icy, uncompromising tone.

"Are you absolutely sure, my Lord?" - Aribeth feigned surprise, she proved to be a good actress. Everyone else in the great hall didn't have to act however. Theon could feel numerous eyes upon him. Mix of surprise and confusion in them if he cared to look, but he was careful not to, he had eyes only for Aribeth and he regarded her as if she was an enemy. Catelyn looked like as if she wanted to say something, but Ned raised his hand in a not so subtle hint and that was the end of it. Theon took a pause and then replied in a cool tone:

"Yes I am sure. We have no secrets under this roof" - well, that wasn't entirely true, but Theon was feeling generous. Aribeth feigned hesitation for just a second, so he barked for good measure - "Speak, woman."

"Very well." - Aribeth narrowed her eyes and sounded pissed - "Hello brother. I am sure you are not very thrilled with my choice of _raven_... Well, deal with it, she is there to protect you. Jon Arryn is dead, and the King is too drunk and too busy making bastards to realize who is responsible and most importantly why. Now he is travelling north to Winterfell, with all the rest of them. Just wait for the ravens and you will see. Anyway there can be only one thing he is after. And the old wolf being as he is all noble and loyal, is not going to say no. Chances are the new Hand of the King will arrive to the same conclusions as Jon Arryn and they will kill him as well. Unless the King suffers a hunting accident first. One way or the other it means war. And our father has not forgotten who killed his sons. Take care brother. Don't die so far from sea. Your sister, Asha Greyjoy."

A/N When I don't get reviews I do cliffhangers. And yes I know it is pathetic )


	5. Chapter 5

Their little show proved to be quite effective. Even a little bit too effective if Theon was to be honest about it. After Aribeth was done the Starks remained speechless, apparently caught off guard if the worried looks on their faces were any indication. Only Jon Snow seemed to be skeptical and narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but that was to be expected, the bastard spend most of his life disliking local ironborn after all. Theon couldn't help, but wonder if yesterday's incident contributed to the fact as well. The old wolf himself looked anything but happy by the "news" and had hard time trying not to show it.

After uncomfortable silence which lasted for quite a while he ordered Jory to show their "guest" to her chamber without offering her food from his table and that simple fact alone spoke volumes. By the hospitality laws of the North Lord Eddard Stark couldn't execute or imprison his guests and consider himself an honourable man later if they broke fast with him at his very own table. Ater all the message could be considered borderline treason and Theon was careful not to cross the line. It spoke of impending war and claimed that Ned's mentor - Jon Arryn, the man he loved and respected was murdered, yes. And even worse it implied that there was a plot in motion to kill his liege. However it left out all the important details concerning who and why was behind it and Theon knew for a fact that Ned Stark would be dying to find out, especially after the ravens from King's Landing confirmed that the Hand of the King was dead.

Even so, Theon knew old man well enough to know he would never resort to torture, especially torturing a woman. In fact that part of Winterfell dungeons, which was reserved for torture was in remarkable state of disrepair and disuse for almost as long as he could remember. Well except maybe for a couple of incidents, which in Theon's opinion didn't really count. Lord Stark wasn't a stranger to intimidation after all, but he wasn't a cruel or paranoid creature either. Otherwise Theon would never risk his and Aribeth's well being in such fashion. So with the current state of affairs he felt reasonably safe with his plot.

Nontheless it wasn't perfect and the confirmation, that their ploy proved to be too effective for his own liking, soon presented itself. Lord Stark with all his shortcomings was also a man of many virtues and patience was one of them, and yet he decided not to wait for the ravens much to Theon's surprise and dismay, which meant there was more room for mistake and that put him in hot water much sooner than he expected - the very next evening.

Ned Stark was an honest and direct man, who wasn't used to fishing for information, and Theon couldn't shake off the feeling that he was about to be interrogated, even though he knew better. The old man was a lord after all and when it came to his subjects, children or in this case - ward - he expected things to happen. Thank the gods old wolf had foresight to include Maester Lewin whose calm nature and insight would moderate the situation. Robb was there too, this one probably for Theon's benefit and the last, but not the least - Lady Catelyn Stark was present as well, with a hint of distress hidden just under the surface of her eyes and features, which made Theon suspect that she was the real reason why things escalated so quickly. Theon figured the promise of war and the probability of loosing a husband had that effect on women, which surpisingly made him calm down a little. He always liked Lady Stark, probably because they shared mutual dislike of Jon Snow, funny how these things worked. Anyway, in the end he was doing her a favour, and that made him feel good about himself, as opposed to sacking her home two years from now, which only made him question his sanity.

"Theon" - Ned interrupted Theon's self reflection, his voice more than a little grave - "I have to admit. The message you received from your sister this morning upset me deeply. I hope you don't take it personally, I can't help, but grieve for Jon Arryn. He was a good man and a very close friend of mine." - he paused and simply turned away looking into empty space.

"Yes indeed" - Maester Lewin, picked up where his lord left - "Not even mentioning the other things, which were said, that left us all more than a little bit worried." - at which point Lady Stark politely coughed and interrupted him.

"With all due respect, Maester Lewin" - Catelyn Stark objected, and there was a lot of respect to be had there, since old maester was there to deliver all five of her children - "It is not what she said that really worries me, but what she didn't say." - then she turned to him and barely keeping her emotions in check pleaded in strained voice - "Theon, as a mother and as a wife I beg you, if there is more to the message, which was intentionally omitted, we have to know."

Theon didn't expect this. He never considered Catelyn Stark as a mother figure and to be honest she didn't exactly volunteer, she wasn't fond of bastards and other cuckoo spawn in her nest. And he had his own mother after all, even though he barely remembered Alannys Greyjoy. He was too young when they were separated and the memories were fuzzy, but still he remembered that he had a mother outthere and that he used to love her. And that made him sad, especially "used to" part, which quickly turned into anger, since he didn't feel that love anymore, not really, it was just an abstract concept by now. He tried to contain the anger, it was silly he knew, after all he had never visited his mother in his previous life when he had the chance, but it was too late and it showed on his face, which made Catelyn slightly recoil from him in surprise. Theon realized that she noticed and could only sigh in return, the flare of anger gone as suddenly as it appeared.

"Look" - he said, turning his face to Ned Stark and trying to sound reasonable, but instead he just sounded tired - "I do realize there is probably more to it and she skipped some important bits of information, information that you want me to find out, but who is to say she will tell me? I might be an heir to Pyke and Iron Islands, but I am not her liege. I might be Asha's brother, but her loyalty is to my sister. And I don't know if you noticed, but we are not exactly friends."

"Is there some bad blood between you?" - Robb asked conversationally, trying to keep things as normal as they could be.

"You could say that" - Theon replied and theatrically rolled his eyes, lying came easy to him - "When we were children Asha and her best friend used to bully her little brother. Trust me, it wasn't pretty."

"You have got to be kidding." - Robb actually laughed a little - "You've never told."

"Who in his right mind complains about such things?" - Theon asked rhetorically. He wasn't lying about bullying itself, just about the person. Asha used to bully Theon when they were little that part was true. It just wasn't as bad as he made it out to be and her friend wasn't Aribeth, but some random lowborn girl, whose name Theon didn't even remember anymore. Best lies in Theon's experience were those which had some truth to it.

"That actually expalins a lot" - Robb said to himself grinning like a mummer.

"Go find a wall and kill yourself" - Theon retorted, which only made Robb laugh some more. Even Ned's expression lightened up a bit at their antics, but it didn't last. Quickly the heavy silence settled in the room again.

"Would you give it a try at least?" - Ned asked hopefully.

"I suppose I could." - Theon replied diplomatically, and then continued deadly serious - "If you give your word not to mention the source of what you are going to find out... to anyone... ever."

That came as surprise to everyone, as a thunderstorm in clear summer sky. Ned and Catelyn just stared at him as if they didn't know what to make of it and even Robb who knew him better than anyone gave him an odd look. Apparentely they didn't expect him to negotiate. How typical. He was still their little ward, Theon realized, a little boy they gave shelter, not a hostage from a foreign power. Theon had enough, so he dropped all pretenses:

"You are a honourable man Lord Stark, everyone in the North knows that, including me. Your word is your greatest asset, I suggest you make use of it."

Lord Eddard Stark narrowed his eyes at him and gave a small nod.

"You are worried about your sister. I can respect that. Very well, you have my word. As far as Starks of Winterfell are concerned Asha Greyjoy doesn't exist."

"And we will keep Lady Aribeth out of it as well?" - Theon wasn't satisfied just yet.

"Very well. Lady Aribeth is just another guest at Winterfell. You have my word." - Ned Stark allowed.

"In that case you might want to invite her to supper with us tonight. It might make my task somewhat easier. Just saying." - Theon proposed with a decidedly feral grin. He was enjoying every moment of it.

"Yes of course." - Ned Stark had the decency to feel discomfort at the current situation - "That was poorly handled."

"Then I will see what I can do. If you will excuse me." - Ned just nodded in reply and Theon left the room without another word. Robb didn't bother to follow him this time.

_A/N Reviews is what makes stories tick, keep them coming! :)_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N In case you are wondering - Aribeth is not OC, which means she is not Mary Sue. Or at least not Mary Sue of my creation. I have actually borrowed her from the game set in Forgotten Realms - Neverwinter Nights, which was supposed to be a twist in the story, but now I have some other twists in mind ) keep reviews coming!_

First thing out of the room Theon opted to visit Aribeth. He found Jory standing guard outside her chamber and informed him of the recent developments:

"The lady will be eating with us tonight. Let me pass."

The man hesitated for just a moment, but complied. The chamber was relatively small, but at least it had a window. It was a long fall though. Aribeth was standing right next to it still sporting her travelling gear, with her cloak discarded on the bed. Her weapons were nowhere to be seen. She gave him a brief questioning look and went back to staring through the aperture. She appeared to be content and relaxed, but it was hard to tell for sure. It was getting dark outside. She waited until Theon approached within two paces so that they could trade whispers.

"So?" - she asked, a little bit too apathetically for his liking. Maybe she was just trying to speak quietly, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"Now, we eat with the Lord and his family, but we are not out of hot water just yet. There are still some loose ends to cover and there will be questions." - he warned and she gave him another questioning look in return.

"Don't worry. I never thought I was such a good liar. I bet even Cyric would have been proud."

"Who is this Cyric?" - Theon was confused.

"A god of deception, illusion, intrigue, lies, murder and strife." - Aribeth replied as a matter of fact.

"You sure come from an interesting place." - Theon sounded skeptical.

"Interesting? Wait till I tell you the story of Cyrinishad." - Aribeth countered.

"I think I will take your word for it." - he allowed and redirected conversation to more pressing matters, making sure she still remembered all the vital details. Especially the place where she supposedly lost her horse to a dire wolf. The Starks will want to investigate and hopefully find Grey Wind and the others, before they starved to death. He was rather attached to the monster, who had saved his ass on one occasion when they waged war in Riverlands. That should also give more credibility to Aribeth's story. After all she appeared in Winterfell out of nowhere and without a horse. For a human "raven" that was suspicious. The rest of the details concerned her background as a noble and affiliation with his sister.

Before long a maid has appeared and offered Aribeth a choice of more formal clothes - a variety of southron and northern dresses more befitting a highborn lady - courtesy of Lady Catelyn Stark, so Theon had to excuse himself. He just hoped she would choose something appropriate for an ironborn since he couldn't have been expected to stay and give her advice on fashion with maid being in there. Eventually he figured it was not that important and found something else to worry about. For example the fact that deserter from Night's Watch never showed up. He didn't know what to make of it and that made him feel uneasy. If his memory didn't fail him the poor bastard was supposed to be executed today in the afternoon, but that never happened and now he had to prod Starks in the right direction to find them wolves. Maybe the dire wolf went after black brother instead of the stag. The thought made him smile a bit, until he realized that could mean Grey Wind's mother was still alive, to defend her pups and that would mean some seriously bad news for everyone involved. Shaking his head he decided to borrow Jon's horse tommorow, if he could get away with it, and arm himself to the teeth, just in case. There was something to be said about this foreknowledge. It was proving to be mighty convenient.

At first the supper was turning out to be a rather dull and boring event, not big on smalltalk or interrogation. Aribeth has chosen to wear a black cotton dress, which wasn't too fancy, but looked rather good on her slender body. What concerned jewelry there was almost none except for a silver necklace around her neck, which he saw for the first time. It was sporting a pendant with the same lizard eye, which served as the crossguard of her sword, and it made Theon inwardly chuckle. As per her choice and his consent it was supposed to be the sigil of her house and now he understood why - she already had all the paraphernalia she needed. That also explained the black dress. Black was supposed to be the color of her house hailing from a small Black Rock island located to the far west from the main archipelago.

It was a perfect cover in his opinion. No one from the mainland ever bothered to track the bannermen of House Greyjoy scattered all over the multitude of islands large and small. Not even talking about the bannermen of the bannermen. The feudal hierachy of Westerosi nobility was a complicated system at best. At least on the mainland it was somewhat rigid, with noble families ruling over their piece of land for centuries, sometimes millenia. They even had books with the lists of bannermen and their bannermen to help make sense out of it. With iron islands and its constant infighting over the land... Let's just say it was easier to leave the management of iron islands to the ironborn. That's why King Robert didn't imprison or execute his father for his rebellion. At least he was familiar with the man, who proved he could keep a lid over that boiling pot, given the proper motivation that is.

In any case Aribeth was quickly adjusting to her role as Westerosi noble and she had superior table manners to prove it, better than his sister's actually if he had to compare. As far as Theon was concerned the image of his people and iron islands was getting a better deal out of this deception.

Robb was the first to break the ice and even though it was a rather clumsy attempt at smalltalk, Arya and Bran took it as some sort of a sign and didn't shut up for the rest of the supper, literally barraging Aribeth with all kinds of questions - ranging from really stupid ones -for example 'Where did you get your sword?', to fairly dangerous, where extreme caution was in order - for example - 'Are you a spy?'. It didn't help that neither Ned or Catelyn or Robb made a slightest attempt to reign them in and that task fell on Sansa's eager shoulders, who positively loved an opportunity to play the part of a big sister. She had a few questions herself, but they were rather harmless. If Theon didn't know any better, he would suspect it was all planned in advance.

Curiously enough none of the questions concerned 'the message' or it contents. It seemed that the Stark kids were explicitly forbidden to touch that subject so they focused their inquiries on Aribeth's person and past instead. She navigated them all reasonably well, claiming to spend the last eight out of ten years on the eastern coast of Essos to account for certain cultural differences that couldn't have been explained otherwise. Even Maester Lewin had no choice but to take everything she said about that part of the world at face value. Maesters of Citadel knew a lot, mostly because they read a lot, but only a handful of sailors from Westeros ever been to those fabled lands, and they were not known for keeping written accounts of their journeys. Meanwhile for a seafearing nation like ironborn it was entirely feasible to roam the seas wide and far.

All this meant that Aribeth had a carte blanche to paint that part of the world as she wanted and she chose to model it on the Sword Coast of her own world. And for the most part Theon approved since it would make her lies more convincing. Arya, Bran and Rickon were completely enthralled with her tales of Waterdeep and Neverwinter, Calimshan desert and Sea of Swords and a whole array of new and strange gods they have never heard before: Mystra, Tyr, Umberlee, Cyric, Bane, Bhaal, Torm and many others. Maester Lewin skeptical at first couldn't hide his curiosity either. Lord and Lady Starks had a rather benevolent expression on their faces, while Jon was hard to read. Meanwhile Robb was definitely intrigued, not so much with the story, but with a woman and Theon didn't like it. For the first time he saw Aribeth actually enjoying herself and it really, really showed. And he wanted to have a capacity to bring out that side of her more often. In retrospect maybe it was his own fault. So far all they did together was plotting, lying and sharing morbid tales of betrayal. 'Yeah' - Theon decided, - 'Cyrinishad can wait.' - he had a deep suspicion it wasn't a cheerful story.

Instead he offered Ned Stark to investigate the supposed dire wolf attack tommorow in the morning. He hoped the old wolf would propose it himself, but he never did, which wasn't a good sign. Either he didn't believe Aribeth at all or considered it could wait in the light of more pressing matters. Lord Stark gave him a long stare, which Theon couldn't quite read, but eventually agreed and ordered Jory to make preparations. If old wolf had any suspicions he kept them very closely to himself. After the meal was over Theon couldn't stop thinking about it, until he realized Lord Stark must have figured his ward asked for an opportunity to interrogate Aribeth outside of castle walls, where they couldn't be overheard. That made more sense. After all the old wolf couldn't possibly know that the real source was Theon himself.


	7. Chapter 7

A grey goose fell from the grey sky as a rock. It was already dead before it hit the ground. A wooden shaft decorated with grey feathers protruded from its chest. For a second she thought the boy was trying to impress her, but he didn't spare her even a glance. Instead he lazily moved his horse in the direction of the dead bird, as if nothing has happened. And then just as lazily moved back, business as usual. It wasn't about sport, or food, or some childish impulse to impress a maid, no, it was about feathers for his arrows. The irony wasn't lost on Aribeth. Sometimes we give our enemies the means to destroy us.

More often than not archers preferred to fletch their own arrows, because arrows were expensive. Theon just didn't look as if he was a type. For one he was highborn and then there was that attitude to consider. Still, it was an excellent shot, considering the wind and she decided to give credit where the credit was due:

"Good shot, Theon" - she allowed - "worthy of any ranger."

Another boy in their party, with dark hair, just snorted in response and wasn't too discreet about it. His name was Jon Snow she believed. When he realized that they have noticed, he just shrugged his shoulders and explained:

"Takes more than just skill to be a ranger."

Theon looked as if he was about to retort, but instead turned away and moved his horse to put some distance between them. Aribeth shortly followed to join him, leaving Jon and his brother Robb behind. When they were out of the earshot of scouts ahead and Starks behind them he slowed down to their usual pace so they could speak in private for the first time since they left the castle. 'That was... wise'- she thought. The boy was cunning and could plot she already knew that, but maybe he was more mature than she was willing to admit. It was hard for her to view him as her equal. After all when she died she was eighty seven year old. And Theon was what, nineteen? Twenty one if you counted those extra two years. But then again humans were short lived race and matured faster. Meanwhile she was of half-eladrin descent herself and could hope to live for another century.

"We should be more careful around the bastard" - Theon stated as a matter of fact, - "he already suspects something and I don't want to give him more food for thought."

"Why? Did I say something wrong?" - she asked.

"Rangers..." - Theon explained with a grimace - "He means to become one, but noone's supposed to know that yet. And I might have mentioned the Wall already." - he finished with distate.

"Very well" - she agreed. She would try to avoid the subject and something was telling her they might have different ideas about it anyway. This world was way too different compared to Toril.

Theon didn't bother to continue conversation and they have traveled in uncomfortable silence for ten long minutes.

"How long till we reach the bridge?" - she finally asked.

"Two hours. We could use this time to expand your lore of Westeros, it is still lacking, especially when it comes to heraldry" - he offered, apparently he was experiencing some discomfort as well.

"Very well" - she agreed and audibly sighed this time. 'Might as well commit' - she made up her mind. - "Tell me exactly what you plan to accomplish here?" - the pointed question took him by surprise and he awarded her with a strange expression on his face, she couldn't quite place it. - "And I mean longterm" - she clarified.

Aribeth was diligently trying to avoid this conversation up until this very point. It was his world and his mess and as far as she was concerned the big picture wasn't her business. She simply lacked the necessary ammount of knowledge required to plan in advance and she liked it this way. In her experience the smarter you were and the more you knew, the more capacity you had to influence the world around you. And with ability to influence events came responsibility for consequences and she had had enough of that to last her a lifetime. She didn't have a stake in this world and it felt good for a change, so she was content to let Theon worry about it. After all he was in unique position to do it and if he fucked up again, then well, so be it.

But she was also too smart to realize she wouldn't be able to keep herself in the dark forever. For all intents and purposes she was stuck here. And that meant longterm. And longterm meant responsibility and consequences not only for your actions, but inaction as well. And just like that she was back in business. After all she used to be paladin of Tyr, Lord of Justice. She used to have a talent for it. That is finding ways to make everything her business. But her stunt as a blackguard and trip to hell didn't leave her untouched either. The world was no longer black and white and all she saw now - were the shades of grey. Justice was no longer absolute, in fact she was beginning to doubt such thing even existed.

"The plan is to keep the wolves north of Moat Cailin. That's what I am trying to accomplish." - he answered a little bit defensively.

"Why? And what is so special about Moat Cailin?"

"Basically it is a bottleneck between North and South. Just a small fortification vulnerable if you are attacking from the north and an impossible obstacle if you try to accomplish the same from the south." - Theon explained - "In the past several hundred archers holding Moat Cailin used to repel entire armies invading from the South. The Winter Kings didn't even had to raise their banners to defend it, which was very convenient if they were dealing with multiple rebellions at home in the North at the same time."

"Indeed" - Aribeth agreed. Without support rebellions had a tendency to fail. Cut off reinforcements and half of the job is done.

"This is how Starks managed to keep their grip on the North for millennia" - Theon continued - "Until the dragons came and changed the rules."

"But what if it is the other way around?" - Aribeth inquired - "What is to stop rebel lord from trapping his liege with all of his army in the South?"

"Precisely" - Theon laughed with mischievous eyes - "That's why Starks always took ALL of their bannermen with them when they were foolish enough to head south. Loyal subjects and hostages combined." - he laughed again only without mirth this time.

"Wouldn't it leave the realm too exposed to attack?" - she wondered - "And what about ships?

"Yes, but from where and whose ships? To the north you have the Wall and Night's Watch, so the wildlings are hardly a threat. To the East you have the ocean and White Harbor with their merchant fleet. And to the west you have Iron Islands... and their longships... and an old man with a grudge." - he expalined. Aribeth could see where this was going.

"Is this what happened the last time?" - she already knew the answer.

"Yes. My uncle Victarion secured Moat Cailin. My sister Asha captured Deepwood Motte. And I, ignoring my fathers orders to reave on Stony Shore, captured Winterfell with twenty men." - her face must have betrayed a shadow of doubt and he noticed that.

"Don't look at me that way. You of all people should understand. I knew the place I spent ten years here, but more importantly I knew the people. Once they have swallowed the bait, they stood no chance." - he grimaced again - "We scaled the walls and slayed the guards. I was so proud then, you know, I knew I could do it and I did it, but in retrospect - it was hardly a challenge."

She nodded her head once in agreement. For some reason she used to think he simply opened the gates from within, but she wasn't about to tell him that. Challenge or no challenge, it still required cunning and tactics. She could respect that.

"So, this is your plan then? To protect Starks from your own people?" - she asked.

But he just chuckled in response. "I wish it was as simple as that. But no, my task is to protect them from themselves." - she waited for him to elaborate. - "I don't know if you have noticed, but you see - Starks are honourable to a fault, and if things start to escalate it is bound to get them into all sorts of trouble, the biggest of which is Tywin Lannister. Trust me I have seen it all before."

"Who is this Tywin Lannister?"

"Only the richest man in all of Westeros" - then he laughed and added - "and also Lord Paramount of Westerlands, Warden of the West, Lion of Casterly Rock, Queen's father and the most dangerous man I know" - he sounded amused. - "Did I mention he is the richest man in Westeros? Nevermind, even he has a weakness and I intend to expoit it."

"Which is?"

"His children." - Theon smiled and she found it a little bit creepy until he explained to her the entire situation with incestuos Lannister twins.

"Oh" - was all she could say. She already knew they have killed Jon Arryn, but not why. The truth was to put it mildly - shocking. "To be honest I could have expected something like this from the drow, but not humans." - she opined.

"Drow? Who are these drow?" - he asked.

"I will tell you about them later" - she deflected the question. She didn't even bother to tell him she wasn't entirely human yet, so blasted dark elves could definitely wait. Instead she had another question. - "So what do you plan to do with this knowledge?"

"Why, reveal it to Lord Stark of course." - he said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"To what end?" - she persisted.

"So that he would reveal it to King, obviously, as soon as he arrives to Winterfell." - she already had a bad feeling about it.

"And what do you imagine is going to happen then?" - she asked carefully, her voice even.

"The King is going to mount their blond pretty heads on pikes, that's what. Queen's, Kingslayer's and probably the heads of their bastards too. Who knows maybe Imp's head is going to find its way on a pike as well, just because he is a Lannister." - Theon reasoned, but Aribeth didn't like it, didn't like it all.

"Imp's?" - she asked with a blank face.

"Yes. Queen's dwarf brother, who else. He is coming to Winterfell too."

Aribeth sighed and didn't try to hide she was upset anymore. "And what do you think is going to happen when the most dangerous man on the continent finds out he just lost all of his children and grandchildern?" - but Theon just shrugged his shoulders:

"I imagine he will start an open rebellion, but what of it? There is nothing he can do alone against the Iron Throne. Eventually he will be crashed just like my father."

"That may be so, but how many lowborns do you think are going to die before everything is said and done?" - she asked a pointed question, her voice uncompromising.

"A lot" - he admitted and had the decency to look unhappy about it - "But it is nothing compared to what's going to happen if it turns into every king for himself, Aribeth, we had five kings fighting each other with no end in sight, five kings." - that gave her a pause, but she quickly recovered.

"Who is to say the war is inevitable? We don't know that." - she countered with irritation - "You also assume that Tywin is going to go down quickly, but you said it yourself, Theon, - he is the richest and most dangerous man in Westeros. With his family gone you can add 'nothing to lose' to that list. What if he finds allies in the south while the King is in Winterfell? What if he flees Westeros with his considerable wealth? He could be sending assassins after King and Starks for the rest of his life and come back with an army when you least expect it. Besides you said it yourself - you want Starks to remain north of Moat Cailin. That can't very well happen if the King orders Lord Eddard to assist with putting down rebellion?"

"That's different, my father won't dare to attack North until King Robert is still alive" - he replied, but he didn't sound so sure anymore. - "Besides old wolf heading south at the head of the army is infinitely more preferable to old wolf heading south to serve as the Hand of the King, unless..." - he hesitated for a few long moments, thinking hard - "you are right the plan is flawed." - he conceded with distate and she decided not to push him anymore. He had superior knowledge of this world compared to her, he would figure out something. All she could do was to offer advice:

"Back on Toril, this priest of Helm I used to know once told me a saying - first you send spies, then envoys, then assassins and only then you send an army."

"Assassins before an army?" - Theon chuckled darkly.

"Yes, do you know why?" - she asked, but didn't wait for an answer and supplied it herself - "Because when there is bad blood between nobles their smallfolk doesn't deserve to suffer."

"Well using assassins is not something that most would consider honourable practice, at least in Westeros" - Theon laughed, his spirits somewhat recovered.

"And where is their honour when highborns conspire together against the lowborns?" - she asked him rhetorically.

"What do you mean?"

"Lannister twins conspired against the King, you and me conspired against the Lannisters, thanks to us Lord Stark finds out and conspires with King to kill the twins, Tywin Lannister raises a flag of rebellion and lowborns start dropping like flies. Before you know it thousands find their way into an early grave. Who is to blame?" - she presented him with a riddle. He needed to understand.

"The Lannister twins" - he offered, but she saw in his eyes that he didn't believe it himself, not anymore.

"Really? All I see is a bunch of nobles who did nothing to prevent a bloodbath." - she drived the point home.

Theon sighed and they rode together in silence for awhile.

"What if it is too late to prevent a bloodbath?" - he finally asked and looked at her with a sad expression on his handsome face.

"Then you will choose a lesser evil and we will have to live with it." - she gave him a sad smile in return.

"We?" - he smiled back, the sadness gone from his face as if it was never there.

'He is such a boy' - she thought to herself and almost laughed, but instead confirmed - "Yes, Turncloak, in case you haven't noticed - we are in it together."

"Well then it is time you finally learned some heraldry" - he announced deadpan - "I can't have you embarassing yourself and me by association, can I?"

"Is this what passes for education here in this god forsaken land?" - she complained. She would much rather learn why Starks never bothered to build a proper fortress at Moat Cailin and let her preferences be known. So they spend the rest of the way discussing precisely that. Apparentely it was all very much complicated. Moat Cailin was too far away from Winterfell to manage it directly by the Lord Paramount himself. Which meant he would have to entrust it to one of his bannermen, preferably second or third son in order to keep such important fortress within the family, but that on the other hand could cause some serious problems two or three generations later. Maybe even sooner if brothers hated each other. Apparentely nobody wanted the Freys in the North, whatever that supposed to mean. She would have to ask him later. She had still much to learn.


	8. Chapter 8

When their party reached the bridge, the carcass of the direwolf wasn't there, which partly confirmed his suspicions and made him feel a little uneasy, but the little monsters were exactly where they were supposed to be and that's what really mattered. On the other hand it could be a good omen for Lord Stark's longterm survival, if you were into that sort of thing. At least on paper Joffrey was still a Baratheon and that made him a stag, so when he ordered execution of the old wolf superstitious folk in Winterfell didn't fail to remember that fateful trip when the Starks found their direwolves and their dead mother. Theon didn't count himself as one of those men so realization made him feel only marginally better.

The only reason he considered that trip fateful was because they had found Grey Wind and the monster had had good grace to save his skin in the battle of Whispering Wood a year later. So he felt as he owed the animal something. It was a strange feeling, Theon thought. As things were he didn't feel it for any other human being in the whole world, not even Robb. He liked Robb, they grew up together, he was a brother he chose and that was the only reason Theon bothered with all of this. But he didn't feel like he owed him something, rather he willed good things for him. If things were different and he didn't spend ten years in Winterfell they would have probably ended up as enemies. But that wasn't the case and he did spend all those years in Winterfell, with only Robb for true company and there was nothing he could do about the past.

The future however was entirely different matter. When he told Aribeth that the goal was to keep Starks north of Moat Cailin, it was Robb he had in mind. He couldn't care less about old wolf unless the manner of his demise forced Robb to call his banners and head south. Aribeth didn't want to be responsible for a bloodbath and neither was he. But bloodbath or no bloodbath as long as Robb stayed in the North he would consider his mission accomplished. With old wolf dead his own father might still get some funny ideas concerning North and wouldn't that be fun? He might be only sixteen year old, but Robb had the capacity to become an exceptional military commander. And in Theon's critical opinion Young Wolf would eat them all alive. His uncles, his sister and all the rest of them would have to learn the hard way just as Kingslayer and Tywin Lannister did. That is, if they were careless enough to leave the safety of their ships for more than a fortnight. Deep inside Theon almost wished for that to happen, threat to his own survival notwithstanding. What is dead may never die after all. And the looks on their faces would be more than worth it. He would get branded as Turncloak all over again naturally. This time by his own people, but he had more than enough practice this time around, or at least so he thought.

Then Theon realized he got carried away. Something was missing. They were already mounted and part of their party was ready to leave for Winterfell with the pups, but one was missing. He sighed, when he realized which one.

"Wait" - he stopped and pretended to hear something. - "Did you hear that?"

"No." - Robb replied and so Theon looked to Aribeth for support. She played along:

"Yes."

He dismounted to their collective surprise and shortly Aribeth did the same.

"There is one more" - he said as a matter of explanation and went to look for Ghost. He wasn't sure exactly why he did, what he did, for all he knew the albino outcast could be already dead, starved to death. So he rationalized it as trying to patch things up with the bastard: if Jon had his own direwolf to care for, maybe he would spend less time suspecting them. And it made sense in his head, but then again fiction usually did. Theon was an accomplished liar and knew better than most that it is the truth, that had a habit of being confusing.

"What of it?" - Jory Cassel asked slightly annoyed, when his uncle and his men started to dismount as well. Their party, including Jon was to keep looking for direwolf, while the Starks and the rest of them made their way to Winterfell.

"It is bad enough we have one direwolf on the prowl, we don't need another to haunt us." - Rodrik Cassel explained.

It took them another five minutes, when one of the men eventually found it. It was barely alive and mute and then he remembered.

'Fuck' - Theon cursed in his head. How was he supposed to remember that the wretched thing was mute? Jon might not notice it now, but he was far from stupid and it was just a matter of time. And then the bastard is going to suspect him even more. But then Theon noticed something and had an idea. The man who found it, seemed to be unsure what to do with it and Theon made the decision for him.

"I suppose this one is yours, Snow." - he said and that was it. Jon carefully took Ghost into his hands and appeared to be genuinely suprised and almost grateful, that he didn't have to press his bastard claims and make an ass of himself in front of his father's men, but would it last? 'Time will tell'- Theon decided and went back to his horse. He didn't notice the strange look Aribeth gave his retreating form, but Jon did. When she caught Jon staring at her she simply gave him a small smile, which reached her eyes and made him blush in return.

She didn't waste anymore time however and quickly followed Theon as if she was his shadow. It wasn't long before she was at his side again. Without her armor she had acquired an almost catlike tread, which hinted at the great deal of agility and made Theon's blood boil, which was a welcome distraction from his dark thoughts. She also knew how and when to keep quiet, which was a quality he learned to appreciate. Bran however was too excited to shut up and spent the rest of their way to Winterfell trying to come up with a name for Summer, occasionally asking Robb and Jon and Aribeth for advice, even him, Theon, which he never did before, outside of archery that is. Theon could only roll his eyes at some of the names and had to fight a strong urge to supply the blasted name, but he knew better. He was too curious to see if Starks will come up with the same names for their wolves. Aribeth must have guessed his thoughts and covertly asked:

"Which is it?"

"Summer" - he whispered as quietly as possible.

A hint of smile quickly crossed her face and disappeared just as quickly - "Are you going to tell him?"

"Hells, no" - he replied a little too loud, which attracted Robb's attention and he awarded them with a knowing look before turning away. Theon knew that look all too well. It meant - 'Look who's got a new girlfriend.' He was confused and couldn't help but wonder if she really gave that impression, since he knew for a fact it wasn't the case. He had a way and reputation with women so he knew why it might appear so to others, but Robb had to know better. Theon's sister, Asha, supposedly appointed Aribeth as his bodyguard and she played her part well. Unless... unless it meant something different this time...

'Crap' - he cursed to himself, when he finally placed it. Normally infatuation wasn't his thing, but he wasn't immune to it and he knew it. If Robb has noticed, then she had to notice it too. Lust was one thing, lust was something he knew all too well and was more than comfortable with displaying it. Robb only used to shake his head at it or glare, yes glare like that one time when Theon realized that Sansa is going to turn into quite an attractive woman. Infatuation however was something reserved for pansies. He would have to fix it. And then he spent an hour agonizing on how exactly he was going to achieve that, until he decided he was being ridiculous and had more important things to worry about. This deviation was a little bit too convinient for his liking, but it also happened to be true.

Now that he couldn't just simply expose the Queen and Kingslayer, while the King visited North, he would have to come up with a quite another story than he originally intended and hope it would prove to be enough to keep Lord Stark in Winterfell. He would have to claim ignorance in certain matters, which concerned the death of Jon Arryn and the Queen's indiscretions in marital bed, and to reveal considerably more insight than Asha could have been realistically expected to know about their father's plans to invade North. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do.

By the time they returned to Winterfell he already made up his mind and didn't waste any time. He decided to clue in Robb first and they spoke privately for some time. It was meant to be a simple courtesy, but turned out into a rather useful exercise. Robb got a chance to feel important and Theon got a chance to polish his story and see what questions he could reasonably expect. When it was turn for Eddard Stark to ask his own questions Theon was well prepared to answer most of them. By the end of the day Theon was rather satisfied with himself, even if Starks, both father and son, were anything, but happy. It wasn't surprising, since they had to swallow some hard truths and there was no denial that it contributed a lot to this sense of twisted satisfaction he was feeling now. Being as they are, they didn't expect that kind of hate from Balon Greyjoy and were rather shocked. Theon would have been amused by their reaction if he never found himself in a very similiar situation when he returned to Pyke only to find out that his offer to support Starks was an extremely bad joke, hilarious even. To add insult to injury it seemed as if everyone was on it, except for him. It was beyond humiliating.

'I was a naive, young fool, who hardly knew his father. What is your excuse, old man?' - he could have asked Ned, but he didn't. Instead he opted to feel satisfied, as if some ancient debt only he knew existed was finally settled.

When they have finally finished and retired to sleep it was already very late, way past the hour of the wolf. He was dead tired and slept for the rest of the night as a baby. When he woke up it was already noon, but he was in good spirits and ravenous. Before long he found his way to the kitchen only to bump into Aribeth on her way out, carrying an apple.

"Can't wait for dinner as well?" - he asked her conversationally.

"Well" - she drawled the word. - "Not exactly."

She was acting all mysterious so he followed her instead until he found himself in her chamber, where they were alone.

"I think I am going to skip it" - she finally said and sit down inviting him to do the same in the opposite chair, which he did and patiently waited for her to elaborate. But she just took a small bite from her apple as if to emphasize what she just said and regarded him with her cool slightly narrowed eyes, betraying nothing. Something was wrong, he could tell. So he decided to play along.

"Would you mind sharing that apple? I have skipped breakfast myself."

"Yes, breakfast..." - she gave him a sour smile and kept the apple - "was a rather awkward event, if you ask me."

"Really? How so?" - he inquired.

"The raven arrived this morning" - she stated. - "They told me nothing, but if I had to guess, whatever we told them must have contradicted the news from King's Landing in a major way."

"Where is Robb?" - he refused to speculate.

"I don't know." - she shrugged - "They have been avoiding me as a plague, even servants. They seem to take after their masters."

"Wait here" - he said and went for the door without another word. She didn't object and simply took another bite as if enjoying her last apple. It made him feel sick.

He suspected something like this could happen, since the moment he realized that deserter from Night's Watch never showed up. In other words - when it was already too late, when they have already commited. If Jon Arryn was still somehow alive... things could get complicated. He went ahead and assumed he was dead and why? Because the raven carrying the news was supposed to be heading for Winterfell already? He had no way of knowing what news exactly and that could prove to be a costly mistake.

Meanwhile Robb proved to be an elusive bastard and he couldn't find him anywhere, but while he was at it, he encountered Sansa instead and the girl gave him such an odd look, which made him instantly realize that she knew something.

It definitely wasn't a good sign, in his opinion, that he had to resort to milking Sansa for information, but he was desperate and he was hungry and so he shamelessly cornered the poor lass. She put up a good fight, but he knew what he was doing and after much begging and coercing in equal measures on his part, she had no choice, but to capitulate and spill the beans. Turns out nobody knew how she named her wolf, yet. After they together established that fact, all he had to do was to look her in the eyes and convince her, not to threaten, but convince her, that if she refused to talk something horrible would happen to Lady and that did her in.

But once he got her talking she wouldn't shut up and gods, she was full of surprises. Apparently she overheard something. That by itself wasn't surprising. However if his inevitable marriage to the Queen didn't qualify as surprise, he didn't know what did. After he asked her how that was even possible, she claimed that mother asked father the same thing and father said something about the Imp stealing the gold from the King. So the King had no choice but to marry the Queen to Theon, if he wanted his gold back or something along those lines... After he accused that she was full of crap and simply mocking him she went ahead and sweared on Old Gods and the New that she was telling the truth, so he had no choice, but to argue that it still didn't make any sense! If the Imp stole the gold from the King, why would the King marry his Queen to Theon of all people, if it was the Imp, who had his gold in the first place. That gave her a pause and she had to concede it didn't make any sense to her either.

Well at least she was able to confirm that Jon Arryn was indeed dead, and the King was coming to Winterfell so it wasn't complete waste of his time. But then she delivered another surprise and this time it hit home. Apparently the King ordered her father not to trust Theon Turncloak...


	9. Chapter 9

He found Aribeth right there, where he left her, in her chamber, but she was not alone. Robb was keeping her company and that came as surprise, considering that Theon had just spent a better half of an hour looking for the man. Robb had the same odd expression on his face as Sansa did, but Theon wasn't so sure if this was a good or a bad thing anymore. He wanted some answers, yes, and apparently Robb had them, but he also dreaded, what they might hold. However he didn't consider himself to be a craven and didn't intend to become one anytime soon.

"Care to explain what is going on, Robb?" - best defense was a good offense. But Robb just took it the wrong way.

"I..." - he briefly glanced at Aribeth and then back at Theon suddenly unsure of himself - "I was just looking for you. I didn't mean to trespass, if that's what you are..."

"It is not what I am implying..." - Theon just rolled his eyes and immediately accused him for good measure. - "and you know it, Robb. How about you enlighten me about my upcoming royal nuptials with the Queen? How is that even possible? She is a married woman, is she not? Because the last time I checked she was married to the King, unless Stranger claimed him." - he demanded further.

"Oh.." -a pause - "how did you..?"

"Sansa."

"Right..." - It was Robb's turn to roll his eyes. - "well, I was explicitly forbidden to speak about it. But considering that someone already let the cat out of the bag I will be more than glad to share with you, what I know." - Robb let out a breath, he didn't know he was holding, and gave Theon an apologetic smile. - "I have to admit that Sansa have just made my life a lot easier. I wasn't happy with father's decison to keep you in the dark, but you already know that, right?"

Theon didn't respond, instead his empty stomach protested again and it made him feel weak. He was still hoping beyond hope that Sansa made up that absurd tale, but it seemed there was some truth to it after all. Robb was about to elaborate, but suddenly remembered they were not alone.

"Maybe we shouldn't impose..." - he hesitated for a second glancing in Aribeth's direction.

"No, it will save me time explaining this mess later." - Theon disagreed. Aribeth definitely looked intrigued and regarded them with a curious gaze.

"As you wish." - Robb shrugged - "What do you want to know?"

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" - Theon offered half-heartedly - "Sansa is hardly a reliable source of information and some details were murky at best."

"Well, you already know that Jon Arryn is dead and the King is travelling King's Road on his way here, to Winterfell, for quite some time now." - Robb started - "However, you probably don't know more recent developments. King Robert's brothers, Stannis and Renly Baratheons are moving out in the other direction and at the head of the army, no less."

"Where?" - Theon asked suspiciously, this was news to him. - "Why?"

"Westerlands." - Robb revealed and then revealed some more and more - "Tywin Lannister was murdered. Shot by the crossbow they say, on Imp's orders they say, but there is no proof. Since Kingslayer was divested, when he took white cloak and the Queen is a woman, the Imp stood to inherit and didn't waste anytime leaving court and claiming Casterly Rock for himself. Meanwhile the western lords were far from thrilled with their new liege lord, but what could they do? The Imp had a strong claim and support of the King, but then he went ahead and started revoking vassal titles left and right... Needless to say the lords in the west didn't take it well, so right now the Imp has to struggle with several rebellions at once."

"Why would he do such a thing?" - Theon asked, frantically thinking. Forget deserter from Night's Watch, this was huge!

"Father says, the Imp means to consolidate the last goldmines in the West in the hands of House Lannister" - Robb explained - "And he has support of the King." - he empathized.

"Baratheon brothers... They mean to save his hide." - Theon realized -"What could he have possibly promised the King, that he would send his own brothers to fight his wars?" - And then it hit him and he answered his own question. Why, of course. - "He promised him a divorce! Did he not?"

"Why would the King divorce the Queen, if there was nothing to gain?" - Robb countered with a cocky smile - "No, what Imp did is humbly ask the King to divorce the Queen and remove Kingslayer from Kingsguard in exchange for writing off the considerable debts of the Crown to House Lannister. As you can imagine it was an offer the King couldn't and didn't refuse." - Robb explained further.

'Son of a bitch' - Theon cursed the Lannister Imp for being so clever and himself for being so stupid. He always assumed that he was the only one with foreknowledge of what is to come, that he was the only one who received from the gods this second chance of sorts, that he was unique. He has never ever allowed for the possibility that there could be someone else out there playing by the same rules and quite succesfully at that. The Lannister Imp certainly deserved points for trying, if patricide and sending your own sister into exile was any indication. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't help, but relate and wonder if he should have done the same. That is killing Balon and sending Asha into exile. It would be an evil thing to do, but he couldn't deny it had a certain appeal to it.

"Does she even know, what's in store for her?" - Aribeth suddenly decided to enter conversation, it wasn't exactly polite, but it was her chamber after all.

"No, it is all supposed to be very secret. Very few people know. King means to divorce his wife in Winterfell and marry her to Theon immediately. My father was ordered to make all the necessary preparations for upcoming festivities. The Imp is paying for it, though." - Robb shrugged.

"Why me?" - Theon suddenly asked and before Robb could answer, explained what was bothering him - "I mean I understand why the Imp would want to exile his sister from King's Landing, he probably hates her guts, but why Winterfell? Why me? Is this some sort of cruel jape?"

Robb's face darkened and Theon instantly realized he was about to lie. Robb was a decent liar, Theon knew, but only when Robb could anticipate, that he would have to lie. It didn't come naturally to him. Meanwhile Theon's question caught him by surprise, flat-footed and unprepared.

"I do not know" - Robb started unconvincingly. - "Maybe... Look..." - he gave up, when he realized it wasn't working and decided to come clean instead - "It was your father's idea. The Imp wanted to marry her off to one of your uncles and ship her to Iron Isles, and that was supposed to be it. This cruel jape you speak of, I think. But your father proposed to marry her to you instead, and matrilineally at that."

This caught him off-guard, it really did and Aribeth didn't fail to notice it.

"What does it mean, matrilineally?" - she asked him.

"It means" - Theon replied slowly, barely hiding bitterness in his voice - "he means to disinherit me." - And now he knew how. It stung, he should have expected it really, all things considered, but it still stung. Now he understood why old wolf wanted to keep him in the dark. Matrilineal marriage was something they often practised in Dorne, especially if your firstborn happened to be a girl. This was the only way to preserve the titles within the family, since women inherited on the same terms as men. This way all children born in matrilineal marriage would be considered of their mother's dynasty, of her House. And while it was a usual practise in Dorne, it was unheard of in the rest of Westeros, where succession laws were different. And no wonder... If Theon married matrilineally to Cersei Lannister, he could still inherit Pyke, but only on paper. His children would be Lannisters and that meant the ironborn would never accept them, and that in turn meant they would never accept him. After all, what is man's worth if he can't even pass his name to his children? He would be laughing stock of the Iron Isles and Asha would have no obstacles to inherit. All she would have to do is to marry matrilineally herself and her spawn would be considered of Greyjoy blood. This was so unfair! Until he realized, that this allowed Cersei to keep screwing her twin and legitimately pass their bastards as Lannisters. And if the Imp failed to produce any progeny himself, those bastards would stand to inherit via their mother.

'Maybe I should borrow the Imp's trick after all and kill my father.' - Theon darkly considered and decided to keep that thought. The Imp sure had a lot of tricks and it was time to study them more closely, they might prove useful:

"I still don't understand why the King is helping the Imp to steal all those goldmines from his bannermen." - he stated as a way of asking and didn't fail to notice that Robb hesitated for several long moments, before finally replying.

"Look, Theon I have already revealed more than I should have, but it was the right thing to do. It concerned this unfortunate marriage of yours and I felt you deserved to know, but I feel uncomfortable revealing anything else."

"Robb" - Theon decided to approach this delicate matter carefully - "I can figure out most of this on my own, anyway. I am not stupid, you know. Just correct me if I am wrong. The Imp must have suffered a great financial loss by writing off all that debt, that the Crown owed him. Meanwhile the King wants to keep borrowing as he did, no doubt. So the only way the Imp can keep lending the Crown money is to acquire it from somewhere else. But don't you think that stealing titles and goldmines from your bannermen is going a little too far? Unless you absolutely sure that King will support you no matter what? This is a military alliance if I ever saw one and the only thing that I don't understand is how Imp accomplished that."

"Very good, Theon" - Robb was impressed and didn't try to hide it - "I suppose you would find out sooner or later anyway. You are to marry his mother after all."

"Who are you talking about?" - Theon asked.

"Tommen Lannister."

'He couldn't possibly know,' - Theon thought and narrowed his eyes. - "Tommen Baratheon, you mean?"

"No" - Robb replied seriously - "He is a Lannister, now, but it stays between us, allright? The Imp has no trueborn heirs and doesn't intend to marry. So he persuaded King Robert to let him adopt Tommen as one of his own and name him the heir apparent to Casterly Rock and Westerlands. The King was thrilled to plant Baratheon seed in Westerlands and agreed."

'I am afraid he has another thing coming' - Theon thought to himself and laughed much to Robb's surprise.

A/N And the plot thickens :) Read and Review!


	10. Chapter 10

Even though Robb left them an hour ago he was still in her room, lost in his thoughts, looking through the window at the overcast sky which reminded him of home. He didn't spend much time thinking of Pyke while he was growing up in Winterfell and it was this way for a reason. Pyke was a dreary place, cold and wet, beyond all reason, even if you took frequent rains into account. It was definitely not as grand or as cozy as Winterfell, but it had one important advantage. It had an endless supply of fresh air. Whenever you had to make a trip from one tower to another over those glorified ropes they used for bridges, your lungs tended to get plenty of it whether you wanted or not. And considering that these trips were rather frequent people tended to take fresh air for granted. Curiously enough folk in Winterfell tended to take the lack of fresh air for granted too. And Theon himself didn't realize he was missing it until he came back to Pyke. And now that Winterfell was suffocating him, he couldn't make himself forget. How can you even make yourself forget something like this?

He promised himself he was done with Iron Islands, but now after all revelations he had second thoughts. Winterfell was easy, hardly a challenge, he admitted as much himself. One big, fat castle with a skeleton crew - ready for taking. Pyke however...

Well Pyke was a different fish entirely. For once it was on an island. And it had four separate towers on four separate cliffs, three of which happened to be surrounded by water. Even if he managed to lure the garrison out with a diversion lets say... at Lordsport, securing them all at the same time in a sneaky fashion would be no small feat, no small feat at all. Even so, he figured he could do it. Yes he could definitely do it. Because for all its differences with Winterfell, Pyke shared one fatal similarity with it - Theon happened to grow up there. He knew the place and he knew the people.

It was getting dark outside and he came back from his reverie only to find Aribeth quitely sitting at her bed, sewing of all things. That was a first. He took several long moments to reconcile what he saw with what he little he knew of her, only to realize that he knew very little indeed.

She sported a fancy sword, but he never saw her use it. She was a warrior, there was no question about it. Back on the isles he saw enough wenches, his own sister among them, weilding all kinds of sharp objects. So he could recognize one, when he saw one. But they were never too shy about demonstrating their prowess with their weapon of choice, always so eager to prove themselves. Aribeth was different however and that made him curious, but he decided to save it for later. Right now he could use a second head.

"Have you ever considered the question - 'Why'?" - he suddenly asked her to get her attention and she took a moment to look up from her work and meet his gaze with her own blue eyes. - "Why are we here? What is our purpose here?"

Aribeth have just shrugged her shoulders and went back to her sewing - "Some gods have a reputation of rather capricious beings. Especially those of evil alignment." - she said as if it was supposed to explain everything.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean" - she drawled as if explaining something obvious to a child and he couldn't quite say that he enjoyed that - "that the answer to your question can be absolutely anything... Maybe they are bored, maybe they are curious. Maybe they want to see us crash and burn again. Maybe we are part of something much bigger and ultimately of no consequence to them. And maybe it is the opposite and they are betting big time on what stupid thing you are going to do next."

Theon narrowed his eyes, but didnt raise to a bait, so she continued.

"And maybe they already know that, because they are inside you."

"What do you mean inside me?" - he asked sceptically.

"They are called gods for a reason, we don't know true extent and limits to their power. At least where I came from greater deities can live several lives at the same time and in some cases possess the bodies of their chosen or even inanimate objects."

That was a new concept for Theon and it showed on his face.

"As I said" - Aribeth shrugged her shoulders again - "It can be absolutely anything. Maybe we are less than ants to them and maybe they are here with us for a ride. You can never know."

"Well, in that case I hope they find my father choking on his own blood entertaining." - Theon retorted bitterly and this time managed to get her full attention. She put down the needle and took several long moments to choose her next words, while regarding him with a critical expression on her face.

"Do you really want to go down that road again, Theon?" - she asked finally.

"And why not? At least this time it feels right."

"So.. you mean to go to Pyke and bury an axe in his belly, is that it? And then what? Fight your way through the guards or die trying?"- she demanded.

"No" - he defended - "I am more craftier bastard than that, remember?" - and it took her a moment to get on the same page with him - "The guards will be already dead." - he revealed.

"Great, so you mean to sack the place just like Winterfell" - she accused and it hurt.

"And why not? It is a castle, not a city. There is a difference and you know it" - he accused as well and actually managed to hurt her back, but she quickly recovered for him to feel too guilty.

"Someone innocent always gets hurt Theon." - she said with a sad sigh, but it only made him laugh:

"They are ironborn, they can take it. Trust me." - he reassured her with a twisted smile.

"What do you mean?" - she didn't understand.

This time it was his turn to explain.

"You may pose as one of us, but it doesn't make you an ironborn. These greenlanders might buy it, but you are still very much clueless about certain customs and our way of life. Back on the isles you are not even considered a man until you made your first corpse. There are no innocents on the isles. We live by the sword, we kill with the sword and we don't make too much fuss when we get the same treatment. After all, what is dead may never die." - he finished.

"What is dead may never die?" - she snorted in response - "What is that even supposed to mean?"

"Honestly? I think it is supposed to be open for interpretation." - he mirrored her reaction and cynically explained - "It is the words of our God, you see, and ever since I was a little kid I have been wondering the same thing. I asked my uncles and brothers and they all provided different explanations." - Theon smiled when he remembered what uncle Aeron had to say about it before he went all religious. And he said something like this: "Theon, if you jump from a cliff and drown, you will not die, not really, but it is going to make your mother very sad."

"But I suppose eventually it is expected from you to come up with your own interpretation."

"And what is yours?" - she asked curiously.

"It means you can't get out of this life alive, it doesn't work that way. Eventually we all die and in a big scheme of things we are already dead. So it doesn't really make that much difference if it happens now or lets say fifty years from now. What really makes a difference is how it happens. Do you understand?" - he asked.

"I think I do" - she replied with a thoughtful expression - "I suppose it makes more sense if you are human."

"What do you mean - if you are human?" - he narrowed his eyes. And then she explained to him who exactly she was and then she explained some more until his head started to hurt and refused to process any more knowledge.


End file.
